Let the dream become your reality.

Archive for the ‘Major Projects’ Category

“RAAAAH!!” A man dressed in ripped clothes and a clown mask jumped out from behind a curtain and raised his chainsaw threateningly at his next victim. A little girl with blond pigtails stood there and stared at him with big bored eyes, clearly unimpressed. His “RAAAAH!!” died down pathetically as he stared back, suddenly disheartened.

As Greg considered the possibilities and details that would be needed for the team’s latest assignment, a light tapping shook the door, which was unnervingly loose on its hinges. “Come in,” he said over his shoulder. The door scraped open twenty-five percent of the way, just enough for a small-framed woman to peek in.

She burst into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She wanted to scream, but she didn’t. Burning tears poured down her face as she sliced her nails over her face violently. Her jaw locked in a silent scream and she beat and kicked at the wall. She went to the sink and splashed her face with water.

This project made me nervous at first. I wasn’t completely happy with the scene descriptions my AI chose because I had certain shots and ideas in my head for a few of the others. I was most worried about being able to make a clown and a weapon as well as finding the right environment for the scene. The other problem was that I did not have a 5-year-old girl within reach to use for the clown scene. So, I had to be creative with angles, placing, and costuming for that whole scene. I thought the desk scene was interesting because of the set I used. I was only able to get the shots by doing certain angles. The last shot was not anywhere near where the first two were in that scene, but I still moved around the light and camera angles to make it work the way I wanted it to. As far as the bathroom breakdown scene, I was a little nervous about finding someone to act it out. It had to be really dramatic and the faces and makeup had to be just right. The camera angle for her bursting into the room was difficult to make look decent given the spatial limitations of the room. I also struggled a little bit with lighting. I did my best to make a difference with lighting, and I think it turned out alright, though I had more options (especially in the bathroom where there are automatic lights instead of a switch). I also would have liked to have the option of 4 or 5 shots together instead of definitively 3. I had a finishing shot that I really wanted to use for the bathroom scene but I had to pick and choose, and whatever I chose it was going to feel incomplete to me. However, the order I chose ended up telling the story better contextually than using the shot I really wanted. So, I wish I could have added it. But limitations, I recognize, are a reality that we all have to live with. Overall, though, I feel as though the project turned out a lot better than I thought it would. In the end I really enjoyed the process and would love to do it again with even more challenging and creative scenes.

I,for some reason, was not a big fan of this part of the project. I think I just want to work on the actual pictures more. Because the expressions I needed to draw were difficult. And I’m terrible at profile drawings, and I had a few shots where I needed to draw that. So. I wasn’t too super duper happy with it. Also, I don’t know what props I’ll need or have access to. I will be able to visualize it better when I see the space I am using up close and all the objects I’ll realistically need. I’m not sure. But I hope the last portion of the project can turn out well. I’m worried about being able to create what I need to complete the shots. But I think I can do it.

There wasn’t really a ton to do after the first checkpoint. The first thing I had to do was pick which angle I like the most. I had really wanted to use all of my shots, so it was hard to choose one that I thought would convey the message best. However, I ended up choosing the one that came to my mind first, which was the front view of the diner, with the lead singer of All American Rejects sitting in front, singing. I had some trouble with coloring things as I did everything in Photoshop (I did not want to lose color I already had by printing and scanning in details. Plus, I have a computer tablet to draw with.). I also liked adding in people. I used a picture of the lead singer of All American Rejects to add his face to the person on the bench. I was even consistent with the uniforms on the waitresses. I tried to add a decent amount of detail, but a lot of the detail came from designing the inside of the diner earlier on, so you could see it all through the window. I was a little disappointed in how flat things looked after I started Photoshopping, but considering I’ve never really used Photoshop before, I think that the whole thing turned out pretty well.
I don’t really know why I chose a diner for this song. For some reason, it seemed really appropriate. The song seems so laidback and comfortable, like a diner. Also, the song has both happy and sad tones to it so that it would be hard, without lyrics, to tell what the mood of the song is. I feel like the best physical environmental representation of that is a diner because it is a cheery place but it also has that low “I could go here and eat soggy sausage when I’m depressed” feel, too. That balance made it a perfect environment for this song.

Process Statement:
This project was interesting. I continued to want to add more details than was necessary, plotting out a kitchen and detailed doors that wouldn’t be seen from the final angle. The sketches were fun and I was surprised by all the images that came to mind. It was also shocking how easily I found the exact images I wanted for my mood board. I feel like the song is incredibly laid back so I wanted to evoke that feeling of being laidback and comfortable. I thought an appropriate setting for that sort of feeling was a 1950s diner with modern people in them. There’s an old trustworthy comfortable feeling about diners. The song also has a definite air of companionship. He sings “You can sit beside me when the world comes down.” This makes me think of two people being comfortable with everything around them and just being happy in each others’ presence. So, I imagined the singer in the booth drinking coffee and eating breakfast foods (at night of course) while laughing and chatting with his girl. Everything around them is mundane and welcoming. The challenge I see ahead is being able to add the letters to the front of the building so that it looks three dimensional and like a real diner. I also need to figure out the space around the diner. I was bummed though that I could only show one image in the end. I wanted to show a variety of images, like a mood board of my creations, to give a really good feel of the shots I wanted in the music video. So, I am going to have some difficulty picking a perfect angle for the image I want to submit in the end. So, I hope I have nice composition I the end.